So cheap seats at Honda cost almost as much as the choice ones in S.D.? And the good seats are $13 more than Ontario or L.A.? And that's because ...? I'd like to know, too. (Interestingly, the promoter's press release about these shows lists all of them, apart from S.D., at $39.50-$66.) Regardless, they all go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

• As with so many of the other names taking part in San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival in mid-August -- Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, Gogol Bordello, Al Green, Levon Helm, Phoenix, Wolfmother, though not (as of now) the Strokes or Social Distortion -- the Furthur regrouping featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of Grateful Dead also will play Southern California dates. In this case, Sept. 20 at Santa Barbara Bowl, $43-$63, on sale 4 p.m. Friday ... and Sept. 21 at the Greek Theatre in L.A., $34.75-$64.75, on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

• The lineup for the 7th annual Rock the Bells festival has gathered up most of the usual hip-hop suspects, and will kick off a limited, four-date run Aug. 21 at the National Orange Show Pavilion in San Bernardino. But this time there's a smart theme involved: the top-tier acts are all tackling classic albums in their entirety.

To wit: Wu-Tang Clan will once again Enter the 36 Chambers (why do I see them getting lost?) ... Snoop (Doggy) Dogg will dust off all of Doggystyle (now that could be sweet), with Warren G, Tha Dogg Pound, Lady of Rage and RBX all involved ... A Tribe Called Quest will deliver 1993's Midnight Marauders in full (would you rather it have been The Low End Theory?) ... Rakim will tackle Paid in Full, one of two seminal albums from the crucial hip-hop year of 1987 (just keeps getting better, don't it?) ... while KRS-One will attempt all of Boogie Down Productions' debut from that year, Criminal Minded, one of the fundamentals of serious, outspoken, by-any-means-necessary rap (why do I see him completely killing it?).

Oh, and the so-billed "special guest" at all stops (except, curiously, San Francisco) will be Lauryn Hill. Do we think she'll do all of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill? Of course. Will she actually dare it and do it justice? Could be a helluva comeback if she did.

General-admission tickets, $75, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via Ticketfly.com. Also check the Rock the Bells site for locations where hard tickets can be purchased, as well as details on VIP ($175), High Roller ($409) and Private Cabana (no joke, inquire within) packages.

• If you didn't go to Coachella or Weenie Roast and you still haven't seen Spoon -- the acclaimed Austin band whose seventh album, Transference, is one of the best of the year so far -- stop being a fool and go check them out Sept. 30 at the Hollywood Palladium. They've never been so consistently great; don't miss out. Cold Cave opens. Tickets, $29.50, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

• Also at the Wiltern, comedian Margaret Cho performs Dec. 3 ... perhaps with some of the musical guests who collaborated on her coming album Cho Dependent making cameos? The roster is pretty deep, and very L.A.-centric: Andrew Bird, Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, Grant Lee Phillips, Brendan Benson, Ben Lee, Tegan and Sara, Ani DiFranco (OK, so it's not entirely L.A.-centric).

The Wiltern show pretty much wraps up the tour, which launches in late August. But Cho will come back to Southern California sooner to headline Sept. 23 at the Grove of Anaheim, $40-$60. Both her O.C. and L.A. dates are on sale Friday at 10 a.m. She also plays two shows (6:30 and 9 p.m.) on Sept. 24 at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego.

And while we're talking comedy, the Queen of Mean, Lisa Lampanelli, will return for two shows in one night (8 and 10:30 p.m.) at Club Nokia on Nov. 20, $30-$48.50, also on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

• But back to the Grove: 4 Troops, a quartet of male and female veterans who on their just-released self-titled debut perform both patriotic songs ("Battle Hymn of the Republic") and more recent fare ("Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue," "Dance with My Father"), will appear Oct. 5 at the Grove. Tickets, $16-$36, are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also look for the group Oct. 6 at Club Nokia, $26-$46, while a second date of Hillsong Live, Aug. 5, has been added at that venue, $25. (The Aug. 3 show is sold out.) Those gigs also go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

While we're in the L.A. Live neighborhood, here are two new offerings at Nokia Theatre: Nickelodeon Presents Storytime Live!, five shows in two days -- Oct. 16 at 9:30 a.m., 1 and 4:30 p.m., and Oct. 17 at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. -- priced from $29.50 to $67 ... and Mexican soft-rock group Camila, Aug. 8, $40-$100. Both of those events are on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also at the West Hollywood House: Ted Nugent, Aug. 17, $37 in advance, $40 day of show, on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. Also at the Mouse House: Saving Abel with We Are the Fallen, American Bang and Taddy Porter, July 17, $17.50-$37.50, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

• The Corin Tucker Band, a new project from the Sleater-Kinney guitarist and vocalist, will play Oct. 13 at L.A.'s El Rey Theatre, $18, on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. Also at the club: Autolux with Gold Panda, Sept. 18, $22, on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Also at the former Fonda Theatre: Four Tet, Oct. 15, $20.50, on sale now ... and Two Door Cinema Club, Nov. 2, $20, on sale Saturday at 10a.m. Meanwhile, Dan Black has been added (along with Far East Movement) to the Robyn/Kelis double-bill at the venue on July 23, $30, on sale now ... and the Cat Empire's show slated for July 3 has been canceled, with refunds available at point of purchase.

• Back to the Galaxy: psychobilly favorite Nekromantix will play the Santa Ana spot on Sept. 17, $20. Also on tap: Cubensis with Moonalice, Sept. 10, $15 ... Exodus with Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail and Bounded by Blood, Sept. 11, $15 in advance, $18 day of show ... and UK Subs with Total Chaos, Oct. 8, $12 in advance, $15 day of show.

• Once the folks out at Irvine Lake in Santiago Canyon finish staging their 13th annual Blues Festival on June 26 -- with Tommy Castro, Coco Montoya, Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers and more -- they will move on to the 2nd annual Legends of Rock Concert, a tribute-band-apalooza featuring Atomic Punks (Van Halen), Aeromyth (you can figure that one out, right?), Christine Vierra (as Janis Joplin), The Long Run (Eagles), Rolling the Stone (uhhh ...) and Bon Fire (which you should also get easily, but just in case, it's AC/DC).

General-admission tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. VIP tickets, including catered lunch, discounted drinks and preferred seating, are $50. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets -- but not your own food, drinks and ice chests, apart from one bottle of water per person. The third part in the Irvine Lake trilogy will be the 5th annual Woodstock '69 Concert on Aug. 21. Click here for details and to buy tickets or call 714-649-9113, ext. 6.

• Lastly, Cibelle has been added to CocoRosie's show July 2 at the Orpheum in downtown L.A., $28, on sale now ... and legendary Iranian actor Behrouz Vossoughi will fly down from the Bay Area for a tribute to his career July 31 at Gibson Amphitheatre. Tickets, $45-$150, on sale now.

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